Disclaimer: I do not own Shameless.
To Turn Back the Hands of Time.
Walking back to the group home Ian pondered how his life led up to this moment. How every decision we make has unalterable consequences. If he could go back, would he make all the same decisions again?
He had an hour to kill before his shift at work would end and he would be expected back at the group home. So Ian wandered aimlessly around lost in thought. He looked up and found himself standing before a house; Mickey's house. He scoffed at the sight of it because of course he would end up here. He'd laugh if it wasn't so sad. He stared defiantly at the house, thinking about the moment where everything turned to shit. Willing the earth to turn back the hands of time and let him chose differently this time. Choose to leave and go to work instead of stay and get caught by Terry. He turned his head at the sound of a car backfiring in the distance, reminding him that time was forever moving forward. Time and tide, as they say, waits for no man.
Glancing down at the watch on his wrist he realized that he had to start heading to the group home. He took one last look at the house before he turned to leave. As he was nearing the group home he wondered if he could sneak in and avoid Lip until his face healed because he knew with one look at his face would come hard questions with even harder to explain answers. He knew that wasn't going to be possible, he would have to face Lip one way or the other.
"What happened to you?" Lip questioned the moment he saw Ian's face.
Sniffing, Ian takes his eyes off the ground and looks Lip in the eye and curtly says, "Terry found out."
Lip's eyes bug out of his head and he asks, "About you and Mickey?"
"Yeah" Ian responds quietly.
"And?" Lip probes.
Staring straight ahead looking partly into Lips eyes and partly at nothing in particular, the scene passed before his eyes: Pure bliss and happiness before the sound of Terry yelling, "what the fuck?", then fist connect to his face before he has a chance to do nothing more than pull his boxers back on, next sitting there next to a hurt Mickey as fear sets in waiting for "the Russian" to get there and kill them and chop their bodies up into little pieces and throw them into lake Michigan, then confusion sets in when a women with heavily done make-up comes in, then horrified clarity with the words "She's gonna fuck the faggot out of you … and you're god damned gonna watch".
After a beat Ian says, "Nothing", and turns and walks away, leaving Lip standing there with his hands extended out, palms facing upwards bemused and afraid for his little brother's life.